Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

Early careersLatest NewsFlexible workingWorking from homeWork-life balance

Staff seek greater flexibility as they get older

by Ashleigh Webber 2 Dec 2019
by Ashleigh Webber 2 Dec 2019 Shutterstock
Shutterstock

Employees increasingly look for a job that is tailored to their lives, rather than having to adapt their lives to their work, a report has claimed.

Research commissioned by law firm Taylor Wessing, which looked at what workers from different generations across the UK wanted from the workplace, found a significant “generational shift” in employee preferences.

Remote working

Remote working roles have doubled in four years

Could an organisation work on a completely remote basis?

Remote workers ‘should spend at least two days in office’

Both employers and office space developers needed to take note of how employees’ preferences change as they get older, its Work in Progress report suggests. For example 35% of 30-45 year olds want the ability to work remotely, compared with 23% of employees in their 20s – many of whom favour the ability to socialise at work.

Three-quarters (74%) of staff of all ages say the length of their commute is an important factor in deciding whether they should consider a remote working role, while 48% of UK workers say the ability to work flexible hours is important to them.

The report says allowing an element of flexible and home working is an “easy win” for employers, so long as they have the appropriate infrastructure to make this viable.

The prevalence of remote working and other flexible working policies has led to a reduction in the need for fixed offices and desks, it notes. Communal spaces within office complexes were also rising in popularity.

Sean Nesbitt, international practice area leader for employment at Taylor Wessing, said: “Employers must embrace this need for flexibility and choice if they want to compete by attracting and retaining the best people.

“Some businesses may balk at enabling a multi-choice, elective-presence environment, opting instead for a more transactional relationship with their workforce and accepting a higher churn. Many though, especially those that need a relatively calm pool of high skills, won’t have that choice, and will instead continue to develop and embellish their ‘work offering’ with technology and policies that appeal to today’s and tomorrow’s workers.”

The report also finds that:

  • Four in 10 (44%) UK workers say that having up-to-date hardware and software is important to them, rising to 57% among 26-30 year olds
  • Almost a quarter (23%) of employees rate their employer poorly for up-to-date software and hardware provision
  • 21-25 year olds are most likely to favour working in a city centre (36%). This falls to 9% among 46-50 year olds
  • Access to gyms is important to 10% of people, particularly 26-30 year olds (18%)
  • Thirty per cent of employees rate access to green space near their place of work as important.

  Performance and Engagement opportunities on Personnel Today

Browse more performance and engagement jobs

Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance

Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday

OptOut
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

 

 

Ashleigh Webber

Ashleigh is a former editor of OHW+ and former HR and wellbeing editor at Personnel Today. Ashleigh's areas of interest include employee health and wellbeing, equality and inclusion and skills development. She has hosted many webinars for Personnel Today, on topics including employee retention, financial wellbeing and menopause support.

previous post
PwC cracks down on office drinking
next post
EU visitors to UK will need three days’ notice before travelling

You may also like

Fewer workers would comply with a return-to-office mandate

21 May 2025

Senior execs at BlackRock to work in office...

8 May 2025

Reform UK councils’ staff face WFH ban

6 May 2025

Remote working may have triggered jump in employee...

17 Apr 2025

Employers struggling to manage rising levels of sickness...

7 Apr 2025

Hybrid workers less sick and less stressed

28 Mar 2025

Dog owners more likely to want to work...

24 Mar 2025

Five years on: how has work changed since...

12 Mar 2025

Return to the office: Gartner highlights the risks...

27 Feb 2025

Ramadan in the workplace: top tips for employers

21 Feb 2025

  • 2025 Employee Communications Report PROMOTED | HR and leadership...Read more
  • The Majority of Employees Have Their Eyes on Their Next Move PROMOTED | A staggering 65%...Read more
  • Prioritising performance management: Strategies for success (webinar) WEBINAR | In today’s fast-paced...Read more
  • Self-Leadership: The Key to Successful Organisations PROMOTED | Eletive is helping businesses...Read more
  • Retaining Female Talent: Four Ways to Reduce Workplace Drop Out PROMOTED | International Women’s Day...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2025

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2025 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+